1981 Frank Zappa on Dr. Demento

August 28, 1981
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Z...
www.imdb.com/name/nm0953261/bi...
www.zappa.com/
Legendary guitarist Frank Zappa was not only a talented musician, but offered biting social commentary along with insightful political and philosophical ideas.

[@Ferda1964]

Mick will do Satisfaction at the age of 100 : )

[@guitarstrunged]

I hear they are planning to put a small grotty speaker on his tomb stone and if you hit the yellow button on the dot on "Sir" it will play a tinny little rendition of Satisfaction. Which you definitely won't be getting.

[@fartkerson]

@@guitarstrunged They could have the sound piped and air flow through his embalmed corpse so in effect he'd be doing Satisfaction til the end of time. 100,000 years playing live and counting! Have all their coffins in a row with advanced AI controlling various animatronics with a statistical analysis that determines the exact harmonics and rhythm that each member of the Stones would have performed in real life. It could also determine the rate of producing original songs and release a new album every 10-20 years for all eternity. Oh lordy, give me shelter!

[@brigittegeorg]

That was so funny. Will somebody play it to Mick.

[@ronniechilds2002]

Keith already has.

[@7karlheinz]

As long as he's getting $atisfaction for it...

[@curtisconrad3668]

I'm glad I saw this interview I know Frank Zappa is awesome but Doctor Demento is an articulate intelligent gentleman. I never would have guessed from listening to his radio show all those years. Go Doctor Demento what a real dude

[@putridabomination]

Dr. Demento is a huge fan of Zappa. Dr. Demento is even responsible for making Weird Al famous! This dude is awesome.

[@Goblin_Tits]

The Doctor is visibly excited throughout this, and it makes me happy to watch.

[@briancarroll3541]

he and frank, both of them like fathers to me growing up. they made me what i am to-oh wait. that's not their fault...

[@bonanzatime]

Dr. Demento And Frank Zappa! It doesn't get any better than that!!

[@davidcawrowl3865]

Zappa philosophy in a nutshell: "I am not a pessimistic person, I am a very realistic person. I am also cynical and I think that everybody would have a lot more fun of they would be a little more cynical and a little more realistic. Because you only meet great disappointments when you have great expectations, and to have great expectations of your fellow man in a place like this is got to lead to heartbreak and remorse."

[@bonniebickett4520]

Blessed are those who expect nothing for they shall not be disappointed.

[@HighStakesDanny]

Good summary

[@fartkerson]

Two awesome dudes. I grew up listening to Dr. Demento. I recorded his shows on cassette tape when I was a kid. Such a funny guy that promotes a lot of other funny guys. And Frank Zappa, well, it took me some time, but I eventually found a great need for specialized entertainment. And somehow he keeps spitting out new records every year for almost 30 years after his death. Magic. One day he'll show up on Letterman's Netflix show and reveal he never died. Then he'll die of old age and we'll mourn for him a second time. And then there will be another 30+ years of posthumous material released and his grandchildren and great grandchildren will tour with the grandchildren and great grandchildren of the Mothers.

[@rockets4kids]

0:58 Interesting to see this was from 1981, just one year before he scored his only top 40 hit.

[@terrypussypower]

Yeah, that's just what I was thinking! "Valley Girl" was just around the corner. In fact, it may even have been written by this point (well, the music at least).

[@t-bo-lesotho]

@@terrypussypower There is an interview with Moon Zappa that was posted at this site where she talked about how the song was created.

[@michaelb4538]

Meanwhile Mick jagger performing satisfaction on a weekly basis

[@synthonaplinth5980]

Do you think he's ever wanted to sing 'Plastic People', instead?

[@scottburton9701]

Frank Zappa was a certifiable genius-no ifs ands or buts.

[@fartkerson]

butts*

[@honuman39]

@@fartkerson chuckle out loud

[@terrypussypower]

@@fartkerson Hu-hu Hu-hu.....you said "butts"!

[@Bi_scotti_5]

I think it's great that Zappa seems excited to be on the Dr Demento show. He's with his people.

[@VisualizeAction]

I miss Frank Zappa AND Dr Dimento. `'*°•~MP~•°*'`

[@mournblade1066]

Dr. Demento is still with us.

[@mc2mc277]

Two of my faves…Two of my most treasured feats are being compared to Zappa in a review of one of my releases and also having a song I wrote played on the Dr Demento Show.

[@neiljohnson9686]

I wish he wouldn’t have left us so soon. Not only for the music that would have been but his outlook and commentary. I’d love to hear what he says about the world today

[@TheKitchenerLeslie]

Frank Zappa (from Heaven): Told ya!

[@KendraAndTheLaw]

Mick Jagger is over 70 and still sings Satisfaction. Still no suicide.

[@TheBeastOfTheHarlot]

What a great timing for that commercial break

[@geekay1349]

one of Frank's best interviews

[@terrypussypower]

I've been a Zappafreak since 1973 yet this is the first time I've seen this clip....how did that happen?

[@mohergenrader2113]

1968. Me too

[@dlxinfinite7098]

Dr Demento's show was the first time I heard Zappa and "Brown Shoes Dont Make It." It tickled my eardrums. I actually thought it was 4 different songs, because of the chord changes and movements.

[@mohergenrader2113]

Be a jerk and go to work!

[@TarantuLandoCalcuLingus]

Thank you so much for this upload

[@ckcost8714]

"I have my opinions...and you got yours, right?"

[@williamball1452]

Frank Zappa is a true legend and composer par excellance!!!!

[@local-teen]

This was awesome.

[@fantomasfanto8469]

The original nardwuar without gifts 😳

[@KDoyle4]

The Doctor handled that quite well. Great interview!

[@chrisconley8583]

Zappa’s bluntness made me think this was going to be a car crash. The Doctor in his own style of bluntness gave it right back. The other thing the Doctor did really well was, the second Zappa finished an answer he had another question right back at him.

[@ryangettig274]

Frank Zappa&Tim Buckley used to play Softball together:)...

[@7karlheinz]

Absolutely prophetic as to the "political future".

[@JQLLC]

1:01 Frank did just that a year later with Valley Girl.

[@tardwhisperer1015]

ONE OF A KIND FRANK. YOU ARE ONE OF A KIND. Yes. I said ARE.

[@bobsyeruncle4841]

The one the ONLY ZAPPA

[@carloslozada470]

Two great guys

[@brigittegeorg]

Brilliant!

[@josephgodfrey8468]

Soo... He'll never have a top 40 hit, "Valley Girl, she's just a Valley Girl!"

[@thewkovacs316]

only did it for moon the fact is, frank could have easily made tons of hits...he simply chose not to

[@TeflonBilly426]

@@thewkovacs316 just like Ty Cobb could have been a homerun star but chose to play a much more technical game.

[@TheKitchenerLeslie]

@@TeflonBilly426 He was hard-headed... kzbin.info/www/bejne/il6xgWOCZtpmnqs

[@WesHampson]

god what a strange program Frank is fucking awesome

[@specialkonacid6574]

People think I'm a pessimist. Lol Good interview

[@Freddy-Da-Freeloadah]

@8:30 Frank Zappa: All American Boy. TRUE!!! Americans are the GREATEST COMPLAINERS ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH!!! By that definition, Frank is a great American. IMHO

[@davidcawrowl3865]

Zappa might have met his match with Dr Demento, lol.

[@fartkerson]

I think you're right, but I also think Zappa's answers blew away Dr. Demento. Quality questions and quality responses.

[@OBACHOWA]

Welcome to 2021

[@Gravyballs2011]

Same necktie from "Broadway the Hard Way"

[@mafiosino]

Wow Dr Demento lol

[@andrewcross8244]

Rabbi Demento

[@dyrwolf]

What would Frank say about cancel culture and FBI/DOJ/CIA/Media corruption?

[@zenmarqzenway]

2:27 Dr Dementia face after Zappa says drugs are the downfall of the current society.

[@gordongo7919]

stop motion animation

[@booblikon]

Why doesn't he mention Bruce Bickford, who did all the stop-motion work in "Baby Snakes"?

[@ilp8817]

Naurdwars dad????

[@Zoso-sg1rj]

R.I.P eardrums at 6:03

[@lostinthiswhirlpool]

This is from 1980, isn't it ? (not 1979)

[@nicolasfacchin1782]

maybe its december 1979? haha

[@fryingwiththeantidote2486]

zappa was born in 1940, he says he’s 40 here.

[@timyoung3257]

But the president he's referring to is clearly Reagan, not Carter, so had to be after January 20, 1981! Frank's birthday was Dec 21, so it must have been within an 11-month window in 1981.

[@timyoung3257]

Found it! August 28, 1981. globalia.net/donlope/fz/videography/1981-84.html

[@frankzappainterviewcollect2320]

@@timyoung3257 Whoops, Fixed!

[@tixximmi1]

MITB

[@charleswinokoor6023]

Frank was somewhat disdainful of his interviewer, but the fact is Dr. Demento did a fine job.

[@fartkerson]

I don't sense any disdain for Demento. That is literally just how Zappa was. They both have some old shared history, and Demento continues to pay homage to and praise Zappa. In fact, if you listen to the whole interview, Demento asks Zappa about his wife and kids, to which Zappa breaks character and says hi to them and praises Demento by acknowledging that his kids listen to the show every night. Demento also gave radio play for artists on Zappa's Bizarre record label, so I seriously doubt there was anything bad between the two at all.

[@terrypussypower]

There's no way in Hell Frank was "disdainful" of Demento! Frank lived and worked in LA, so he knew exactly who he was speaking to, and what he was about. They would've met loads of times over the years.

[@curtisconrad3668]

Frank respected Dr. Demento. The questions were intelligent, and articulate, some of them would be asked by Zappa's detractors. He was showing disdain for the subject matter. He was simply allowed to answer and speak his mind. Zappa valued that kind of discourse

[@Kohout33]

FZ turned 40 on December 21, 1980, so how is this from 1979 if FZ sez he's 40 years old?

[@griffkohout6628]

" specialized entertainment"

[@cazazzadan]

thomas makucevich I think more than anything it depended on his mood. There are plenty of interviews where he's friendly and jokey and constructive, giving detailed answers. He was a difficult person to deal with no doubt.

[@Woodys_Wisdom]

I agree thomas, I also didn't like his answer to the question of why he doesn't try to write a top 40 hit.

[@andrewrodriguez7727]

@@Woodys_Wisdom he was beyond that. You puppet, lover!!

[@kenanbulut9590]

Frankie has always been a bit fearful of the straw man that theocracy is in this country. It doesn't exist but he seems to have a phobia of some sort. Well sadly, he used to.

[@DoomKid]

Doesn't exist? Are you jokin'?

[@terrypussypower]

Are you serious? Ever heard of The American Taliban? Evangelicals are a massive political force in America....who do you think voted Reagan and Trump into office?

[@jwc3o2]

one has to wonder how Hansen ever got to be "Dr.Demento": what a plushtoy doofus! [just before the commercial break, Frank seems to be sitting there thinking "why the fuck did I ever agree to be interviewed by this idiot?"] despite the lack of prompts worth responding to, he (Frank) gets in some good ones, the whole 1o minutes centering nicely around that "If you have a good idea, keep it to yourself." comment.

[@petermaxwell2965]

White person music...Pat Boone..lol

[@Miler97487]

No surprise to see Zappa down on Pat Boone. Too bad he no longer with us to see his son Dweezil play on a Pat Boone album, in this case, In a Metal Mood, big band covers of songs by 1970s and '80s hard rock and metal artists.

[@coachchris548]

I love white music, I'm sick of these liberals bashing anything white

[@TamersLoreguide]

@@coachchris548 I would love to see you're reaction to some of the lyrics on "trouble everyday", "the blue light" and "Jesus think's your a jerk"

[@AndyGrazianoNYC]

lol doc is so awkward

[@JQLLC]

7:50 What being woke once was.

[@lindahutchinson7485]

... »if you agree with me you agree with me,if you don’t then don’t ... »FZ✨

[@HYPNOTICVIDEO]

Frank really should have done some drugs.

[@fredthompson4568]

Frank is annoid with this maeningless interview. Its so below his intellectual insites.

[@fredthompson4568]

@Greased Lightning Dont be bothered. MYOB.

[@edwardburke8503]

Greased Lightning that pleases me!

[@TarantuLandoCalcuLingus]

frank and demento were good acquaintances

[@curtisconrad3668]

These were valid, thoughtful and intelligent questions, some that would have been asked by Zappa's detractors. Frank respected Dr. Dimento and was showing disdain for some of the subject matter. He thoroughly answered all the questions and was simply allowed to speak his mind. Zappa valued that sort of discourse

[@andytrimble5615]

Zappa - he was antidrug, but he had a serious issue with the "moral majority." That's a contradiction in terms, and he should have found the common ground with those people rather than smearing them all of the time. He would have found an audience that was far more forgiving and accepting of his avant garde art. Anyone who does not see the connection between illicit drug use and moral depravity is willfully blind.

[@olddogcitypound5859]

andy trimble fuck the moral majority and all who support them🖕

[@mellotronage7073]

Moral majority, in Frank's time, to give context, included many legitimate gripes. He saw major televangelists aligning themselves with right wing conservatives in American government (not knocking conservatism here; I am a moderate one myself...) The most notable ear that televangelists had was Ronald Reagan. Another issue he had a problem with was women's lib. He believed that women's lib knocked us backward as a society. He didn't begrudge women wanting equality or equal pay, but thought that children who were raised in daycare or by someone else other than family or moms at home would be detrimental to society, (can't say he was wrong). He saw in advance the new two person family income of the late 60's/early 70's being potentially exploited by big buisiness, driving a fake recession, thereby requiring the wives to HAVE TO WORK, no longer having the choice; getting beyond the point of no return & women HAVING TO WORK; no longer being a choice to sustain income to keep the nuclear family financially solvent in the future. The moral majority also (in this case, something called the PMRC, the parents music resource counsel) wanted to put labeling on album releases who's lyrics were deemed offensive by an appointed government group, (who's appointees were to be wives of congressmen at the time ? Good gawd !!) Thankfully, that crashed & burned because those albums so labelled were exceedingly successful BECAUSE OF the labelling...lol. So yes, FZ was very anti-drug and anti-moral majority. In fact, he fired more than one partier in his band's ranks (but allowed Flo & Eddie to drug it up extensively, for some unknown reason. One GLARING exception going on there in the 1970-1972 incarnation of Frank Zappa & The Mothers. Even told them, paraphrasing here, ".... if you get caught at customs, I don't even know you, got it ?..." If you watch enough Zappa interviews or read his book, The Real Frank Zappa Book, you get the very clear notion of Frank as a visionary. Things that he said then were laughed at, at the time by interviewers & audiences alike when he was in front of cameras. He spoke of a post- literate society in the 60's & 70's. You can see in some instances the eye rolling & " oh, boy- what a whack job, what's this guy on ? Must be some good shit...." attitude of some when he spoke of what he believed back then. "Oh, sure- and that guy claims he's NOT on drugs.." kind of attitude. He was an advanced mind on many levels. Music composition being first & foremost. He was also a brilliant soloist on the guitar, as well. FZ was an American who was way before his time in many regards. And yes, probably unique in that he truly was anti-drug & anti-moral majority as well. And he died waaay too young, at only 52 years old in 1993 from prostate cancer. He is my all time musical hero, head & shoulders above anyone else. And music is a large part of who I am. It was nice to have shared these thoughts together with you !! Regards-😎

[@coachchris548]

I'm sick of these liberals bashing anything white. I'm love white music